Wedding Rice Toss Alternatives

1. Push Pop Confetti   2. Rose Petal Toss   3. Confetti Toss   4. Bird Seed Toss   

5. Cap Guns   6. PomPom Toss

I love when couples run down the aisle after they say "I do" running through rice, I think it's stuck in my head from watching Cinderella a million times as a kid. Though we all know how bad rice is for the birds, there are some great alternatives out there now! I'm not a huge fan of bubbles, but these are some great rice toss alternatives! I think the little guns and pompoms are my favorite. I just made some little birch cones to hold rose petals for a wedding a couple weekends ago and they were so much fun and made for great pictures! 

Baby it's Cold Outside: Off to Russia

I leave for Moscow, Russia on Sunday! It's a short work trip for Reebok (my day design job if you're just tuning in), it's a big market for us, and we're going to check out the area! I've never been and really don't know what to expect other then that it will be pretty cold and that I'll need to keep my political opinions to myself! I'll be sure to post pics once I get back on Friday! Have a great weekend!

Wedding Photo-booth Chalk Word Bubbles

Another little extra I designed for Elaine and Steve's Wedding were custom chalk word bubbles. One of the things Elaine was most excited about for her wedding was the photo-booth. Though the photo booth supplies most of the props for their photo-booth, we wanted to guests to be able to "say something" in their pictures. Hence the chalkboard word bubbles! I made them out of wood, with a chalkboard front, wood border, and leather handles on the back. These are some of the pictures from the photo booth, Chris and I are the ones on the right! The photo booth company was also able to include the wedding logo at the bottom of the photo strips which was a great way to tie it all together! Other design elements for their wedding can be found at the following links:  invitations, design process, save the dates, guest guidebooks, programs, place cards & holders, confetti bags, and favors.

DIY Bathroom Vanities

1. Rustic Table   2. Board Table   3. Mid-Century Modern Dresser   4. Antique Dresser

Our primary bathroom is small, but has a BIG bulky single vanity that is much too ornate for my taste. I've been trolling the websites for Lowes, Home Depot, Overstock, Ikea and others for a nice single vanity for under $500, but nothing has really been striking my fancy. Which has me thinking about DIYing it. I love the idea of turning an existing piece of furniture into a vanity. Between our house and my parents house, we have a couple of vanities that just might fit the bill. If I coated them with marine grade shellac I think it could be pretty awesome! What do you think?

DIY Throw Pillows

Sometimes the easiest way to refresh a room is to make new throw pillows. It's an easy way to introduce new patterns and colors into a room without spending too much money. I had bought some Merrimeko fabric last time I was in Boston and decided it would be a fun print in our living room. Since it was a little pricy I bought just enough for the fronts of two pillows, figuring I could use some cheep fabric for the back. I paired it with a basic striped fabric I bought from Ikea and some pompom trim I had laying around, I'm pretty happy with how they came out!

When it comes to choosing fabrics, patterns and colors for throw pillows, don't stress out about it too much, things don't have to match perfectly to look great. My Mom always jokes that I don't like anything to match because I never want to buy furniture, plates, or linens in sets, I like to mix and match to get something that feels unique. My basic rule of thumb, make sure the scale of the patterns and color pallets feel like they could be friends, they don't need to be twins or even siblings, they just need to look like they could hang out together and have a good time! See the full how too below.

So let me preface this DIY by saying I am by no means a pro at sewing. I'm awesome at strait lines and basic patterns, but it's something I do out of necessity, not love. So I'm sure there are better and more "by the book" methods to make pillows, but this is mine and it has worked pretty well! I avoid sewing in zippers because I find them annoying and I hate changing the foot on my sewing machine, so this is a great way to make pillows for a beginner (or lazy) sewer!

Supplies & Tools:

1. Fabric (I made 15x15in pillows, so usually 1/2 yard of fabric for a pillow is more than enough)
2. Thread that matches your fabric
3. Sewing machine
4. Fabric Scissors
5. Pompom trim (optional)

Process:

1. Cut front square of fabric, cut it about 1inch longer and wider than you need for seem allowance
2. For the back, I like to make a pocket to slide the pillow into so I don't have to sew in a zipper. So cut two pieces of fabric the same height as the front, but the length of the two should only be about 2/3 the length of the front.
3. Finish one edge of each of the back pieces of fabric (the long edge) see photo above.
4. Layer the front fabric and back fabric with the good side facing each other, making sure the two back pieces take up the same amount of space as the front, they should have a couple inches of overlap to create your "pocket" style pillow case.
5. Pin the edges of the fabric for sewing, if you are using trim, pin that along the edge as well. When pinning, put in the pins horizontal to where the seem will go so that you don't need to remove them as you sew!
6. Once you've sewn all the edges, remove all your pins and turn it right side out! Slide in your pillow insert or stuffing and you're good to go! Yay pillows!

Outdoor Wedding Ceremony Decor

Outdoor ceremonies can be so memorable and unique! Though it can be stressful checking the weather every day leading up to your ceremony, when you get a beautiful day, nothing is better! One of the challenges of outdoor ceremonies is deciding how to decorate and define your ceremony space. These are some of my favorite ideas to make your outdoor ceremony memorable.

1. Streamer Pew Markers: This is such an easy and inexpensive alternative to floral pew markers, and after the ceremony they can be great fun in photos!
2. Program Mailboxes: I love this idea to hold all the programs at at outdoor ceremony. It's so sweet and a great way to keep them from blowing away on a windy day!
3. Door Aisle Entry: I've seen a couple iterations of this idea. You can even set them up in such a way that two of the ushers can hold them before the bride starts walking down the aisle, blocking her from the guests until she reaches the aisle, then moves them aside before she starts her walk down the aisle. That way you can still have a grand entry in an outdoor setting!
4. Hanging Garland: Hanging ribbons or garland from trees is a great way to add a little extra romance to an outdoor ceremony. They add something special to the site and make for great pictures.
5. Hanging Lace Rings: This is a super simple and impactful decor idea. Just buy embroidery hoops in a variety of sizes from a craft store, stretch lace in them and then trim the extra around the edges. When you hang them from trees they can be a lovely backdrop as you say your vows, or create a perfect picture spot.
6. Balloons: Using large round balloons placed around the perimeter of your seating area helps define your ceremony space, creating a more intimate feel. Make sure not to use too many, in a setting like this, less is more!

Hand Lettering: "It's Kind Of Fun To Do The Impossible"

 I'm pretty proud that this is my first Walt Disney quote thus far. The hubby and I have the "Disney Love" deep in our bones. I've been having some serious Disney cravings lately. It's been almost two years since we've been do Disney World, which is a LONG time for us (granted, we've been to Disneyland and Hong Kong Disney in that time, but those were short day trips and don't quite satisfy the craving). So, on Tuesday night, I decided to tag along with my Aunt, Uncle and little cousin, on their trip to Disney world.... THIS WEEKEND! It was a little cray cray finding a flight and figuring out what to with the dogs since the hubby is on his way to China. But, WHEN THERE'S A WILL THERE'S A WAY, and I really wanted to go! SO this afternoon I'll be on my way to Disney World! It's my happy place. Hope you have a great weekend, but if you're not at Disney, it won't be as good as mine.